Neverland, the Lost Boys, and the First Lost Girl
by Redhunterwoman
Summary: Karen washes up on the shores of Neverland and is rescued by the Lost Boys...this is the tale of her adventures


Neverland, The Lost Boys, and the First Lost Girl

A fairy tale

Alright grandchildren, settle down. That's right everyone into your beds. Joshua, stop jumping

on the bed! You're jarring me so much that I can't remember my story. "Ohhh please

remember Grandma! You have to tell us the story about Neverland! Now Jeannette I

promised you two that I would tell you my story, and as soon as you are quiet and get tucked

into bed I will begin. Now my dears I was born in 1669 in a small American seaport. "But

Grandma, that's not possible! You're not that old… are you?!" Yes, Jeanette I am very old,

344 to be exact but only our family knows this. "How's that possible?" Magic. "Magic! But I

thought magic was just in fairy tales." That's what I thought to Jeanette but now I know

differently. "But that doesn't make any sense!" Hush now child, let me tell you my story and it

will all be explained to you. Now where was I….. ahh yes my birthplace. My mother was the

wife of a sea captain in Her Majesties Royal Navy, and as she was an outgoing woman she

insisted on traveling with her husband. In those days this was something nearly unheard of but

my father was a forward thinking man, and loved my mother dearly, so she joined him on

almost all of his voyages. On this particular trip she was pregnant with me, her firstborn, and it

happened that the time came for my birth while they were in America. My mother named me

Carolina after the town they were staying in. "Wait Grandma! I thought your' name is Karen?"

Why yes child it is but my full name is Carolina. Now the next day they were to set out again for

England, so the first months of my life were spent at sea. My mother had two other children

after me, a girl and a boy, and finally settled down in a small town; in a large, but cozy estate.

With children that needed her she no longer felt the call of the sea to go to distant lands. Father

however continued in the Navy and made an impressive name for himself. At the age of seven

my father began taking me on sea voyages with him, short ones at first and steadily longer until

I had traveled all the way across the ocean and back. I thought life was perfect. I had a happy

family, food, and enough adventure to fill me for a lifetime. Nevertheless, my happiness was

about to end. When I was ten years old, the same age as you Jeanette, my father and I were on

a short trip to Ireland when we received the news that my mother and siblings had died of the

plague. Father was devastated. I could not understand it at first, but the truth slowly dawned

on me. It felt like I suddenly had a huge hole in my heart. "Your mama died! But that's awful!

"I know Joshua, but there was nothing we could do about it."

My father grieved for a long time but when he recovered he made a drastic change to our life

style. He sold our property and bought a tiny cottage by the sea. At this time he decided that I

should learn swordsmanship. Father was a superb swordsman, and had given all of us children

small daggers and taught us how to use them, but now he wanted me to learn how to use a real

sword. He spared no expense and began to have me tutored by the best sword-master in the

land. I learned everything from fencing, broad swords, axes, daggers, even archery and how to

use a slingshot. Whatever the weapon I at least had the knowledge of how to use it. From this

point on I was always with my father. We rarely stayed in the tiny cottage that my father had

bought and instead spent most of our time at sea. Father became my teacher and taught me

mathematics, geography, improved my writing, and drilled me on the workings of a ship. My

father even hired a man to go on our sea trips to specifically train me in sword skills. Oh, how I

missed my mother and siblings, but I went to so many new places and had so many adventures

throughout the next six years that I rarely had time to miss them. Father became everything to

me and all of my efforts were to please him, whether learning the stars or mastering a new

sword maneuver. The summer that I turned sixteen, however, was when my life truly took a

strange turn. My father had been sent directly by the Queen herself to search the area of the

Bermuda Triangle for pirates as this was a supposed hiding place for them. The only problem

with this was that the Bermuda Triangle was supposed to be cursed and most sailors avoided

the place at all costs. Sailors are highly superstitious, but my father was able to come up with a

tough crew of men and set out to obey his Queen. Of course I went with him, as we were never

apart anymore, and I was incredibly excited to be going on such a dangerous adventure. So off

we went pirate hunting, a noble task for Her Majesty, but in the end we got more than we

bargained for.

"Graaandmaa, when do we hear about fighting the pirates! I want to hear about that!" I'm

coming to them Joshua, please be patient. It had been over a month since we had set sail and

we were nearing the region of the Triangle. I was having a rather rotten day since the weather

was looking to turn into a storm and father was making me practice my sword play. I had been

working on using a great two handed broadsword with my tutor until my arms ached and now

my father wanted me to continue the lesson with my regular sword. I loudly protested over this

but my father only told me that ladies do not complain. I practiced until my father declared that

I could be done for the day, and I hurriedly went to my cabin to change out of my sweaty

clothes. The hot air of the region was oppressive, promising a tropical storm, so the whole crew

was on edge. We had sailed for weeks without seeing a pirate ship and the crew was beginning

to grumble. Suddenly the lookout in the crow's nest shouted out, "Pirate ship ahead!" And low

and behold in the distance there was indeed a ship flying the Jolly Roger, the skull and

crossbones, the sign of a pirate! As we were behind her the pirates had not noticed us yet but

we all knew that it was only a short time until she would realize that we were on her tail.

However, the pirate ship was not our only worry. All afternoon we had been watching dark

clouds in the east grow larger and larger until they had turned into monstrous thunderheads,

rearing like an ugly snake over the water that was slowly crawling towards us. With the tropical

storm headed for us my father decided that instead of trying to pursue the pirate ship we

should try to outrun the storm. The pirate ship had other ideas. They had finally seen our ship

and had turned around and were making a run towards us. Now my father had a real problem,

but he commanded the men to their battle stations even as the wind began to pick up and howl

through the rigging. I was frightened, but terribly excited at the prospect of fighting real pirates

even though my father had forbidden me from actually going into battle. I was puzzled though

at what madness would overtake a sea captain to try to do battle in a storm, one that could

turn into a hurricane no less, but I was ignorant in the ways of pirates at that time. The wind

grew louder and stronger while the waves picked up energy and size until they were quite

dangerous. Nonetheless, the pirates began shooting at us, and we at them with our cannons

and muskets. Soon the pirate ship was forced next to ours, not from the planning of its captain,

but by the sea itself. The battle was going badly for my father and his men. The pirates' galleon

was twice our length and held three times as many men. We were boarded and even though

our men fought courageously, it was a losing fight. I was supposed to stay in the main cabin

guarded by my tutor, a brave man and a great swordsman, but when he saw how badly the

battle was going, he rushed out to fight with his comrades. I watched from the window as the

pirates slowly pushed back our men. By this time the storm was in full force and rain was

whipping down onto the deck and lightning flashed across the sky. The pirates were taking a

heavy toll to their number, but there was so many of them that when one was slain another

man immediately jumped to his place. Finally, when one of the pirates cut down our rope

maker, a good friend of mine, I could take it no more. In a reckless rage I stormed out of cabin

onto the deck and began wildly hacking at anyone within reach. There was only a few of the

crew left, my father among them, fighting valiantly against the pirates. After my rage had past I

was left with a cold fear in the pit of my stomach as I watched the great number of enemies

around me. I realized that I was going to die or worse if the stories about pirates were true. I

looked over at the others and realized that my father was the only one of them left standing.

He was surrounded by a great number of men and was fighting like a madman. The swords

flickered in and out and gleamed in the bright bursts from the lightning. Finally one of the

pirates swords found there mark and I heard a great cry. I wondered for a moment where it had

come from till I realized that it had come from my own lips. Almost at the same moment the

ship gave a huge shudder, and then listed to the side. When the ship twisted I was thrown from

the deck into the heaving waves. Now by some miracle, I was still holding on to my sword when

I fell and to this day I still do not understand how I got it into my scabbard while trying to stay

above water. Now grandchildren, I know that you think that it was strange to try to save my

sword, but my father had drilled into me the importance of being able to protect myself, and I

was going to try to honor his wishes even if he was dead. Dead, my father was gone. It was a

horrible realization. Here I was almost drowning, but my breaking heart was what really was

pulling me down. Unexpectedly, I felt a something hard hit me as it drifted by me. I reached for

it and successfully used it to pull my head all of the way out of the water. I had grabbed onto a

piece of the ships railing and I now felt a shred of hope. Then I felt an abrupt pain in my side as

if someone had driven a large knife into me. My pain was so great that I saw a light and stars

flash before my eyes and then I passed out into darkness.

"Grandma…..did you, did you die?" Joshua, wherever did you get an idea like that? If I had

died I would not be here telling you this story now would I? "Well I suppose not" Good. Now I

will get back to my story. I remember very vaguely waking up and realizing that I was on the

shore of a beach, but I was too weak to move or cry out for help as I was badly hurt and I

quickly blacked out again. The next thing that I remember was waking up next to the remains of

a campfire. I had lost a lot of blood but I had more strength then when I was on the beach.

Along with the fire, I had another strange realization that someone had bound my wounds. I

slowly sat up, taking a good look at my surroundings. I was in a small clearing in the jungle, but

still close enough to the edge of the trees so that I could still see the ocean and the silvery sand

of a beach. My first thought was that I had been taken by the pirates, but I quickly discarded

that idea when I realized that no pirate would have taken the time to bandage me and care for

my wounds. My next thought was that I had been saved by island natives and this seemed to

me like a much truer possibility, but I was fearful of what they would want to do to me. With

the loss of blood and shock to my system my brain was not thinking clearly, so in a foolish

moment, I decided that I would get up and try to sneak away and hide somewhere. I rose

unsteadily to my feet while the ground seemed to move and sway around me. I stood blinking

for a minute and then as my disoriented mind began to collect itself I wearily began to totter

away from the clearing and into the forest. As my thoughts grew clearer I first realized that I

still had my sword, which came as a shock to me, and that I needed to find not only a good

hiding place, but a shelter as well. I also was hungry, with a pain that I had never felt before,

and my need for water was turning into an all-consuming thought. It was not long though

before I began to suspect someone was trailing me. I had expected this but I had hoped that it

would not happen so soon. I continued to stubbornly stagger on however until I came to

another clearing. This one had great rocks jutting out of the ground around it and the bushes

grew so thick around their bases that a man could stand unseen in them. I took full advantage

of this cover and waited exhausted in the shrubs to see what kind of pursuer was after me.

It did not take long for my hunter to catch up to my hiding place. My follower surprised me

greatly when he passed, as he was only a boy around my age with wild spiky black hair and dark

eyes all dressed in greens and browns. Not super tall, but not short either, with skin tanned

from days out in the sun. He walked warily into the clearing but kept on right past me, intently

staring at the ground searching for any signs of my passage and disappeared into the jungle. At

this point I knew I was stuck. I had no energy to go any farther at least without food and water,

so I resolved in my befuddled state to stay and try to force the strange boy to give me food and

take me to shelter. I knew that he would soon be back to try to pick up my trail again, and I

realized that he would surely find me. Moments after I had resolved this, here came the boy

into the clearing this time more alert than he had been before. When he turned his back on me

to again search the ground I drew my sword and stepped out of the bushes. At the sound he

whirled around and pulled out a sword of his own, much faster than I thought was humanely

possible. As bad of shape as I was in I mustered my courage and said "Don't come any closer!

I'm hurt and in terrible need of food and water. If you try to harm me I will fight to the death!"

At this the boy lowered his sword and laughed. "Harm you! Why would I do that when I just

carried you from the beach and bandaged your wounds? I want to help you, not hurt you." At

this statement my resolve began to waver but I still said threateningly "I promise that if you

make any attempt to mischief I will fight you." This statement however, did not have much

weight to it as at that moment my body betrayed me and my knees began to buckle, forcing me

to lean forwards and use my sword as a crutch. As I began to fall the boy quickly sheathed his

sword, came to my side and lifted me up. He offered me water, which I gratefully drank, and

apologized that he had no food with him. He declared that he would take me back to his home

and get someone who could better treat my wounds. At first I resisted this saying that I didn't

even know where I was or who he was or where he was taking me. Again he apologized saying

"I'm sorry I didn't introduce myself, but the jungle is dangerous. My name is David, and this

island is called Neverland. I am taking you to the Tree House." I said "My name is Karen and I

have never heard of Neverland, but if this Tree place can help me I suppose that I must go

there." David then declared that it was a long distance to the Tree House and wanted me to

lean on him so that I could walk easier, but I refused this offer. I was stubborn and even though

I was badly hurt I slowly followed after him. I don't believe that we had traveled over a mile

when my strength finally gave out. I had stopped to rest and was leaning against a tree when

my knees gave out again and everything went dark.

My next memory was waking up in a bright and cheery room made out of what appeared to be

bamboo or some sort of light colored wood with lopsided open windows. I found myself lying

on a low bed, with a mattress made out of some unknown material, and a few raggedy blankets

covering me. I moaned, as I moved slightly taking an inventory of all of my body parts, making

sure that I was still in one piece and then slowly pulled myself into a sitting position. I heard a

squeak from the door way, and was surprised to see a small boy with curly brown hair and

freckles standing with his mouth agape, holding a tray with a covered bowl on it. We stared at

each other for a minute and then the boy turned around and hollered, "SHE'S AWAKE! SHE

WOKE UP! EVERYBODY COME QUICK!" Well you can imagine all of the things that ran

through my mind grandchildren, it was very alarming to hear this and even more alarming to

hear the cries of other voices and the pounding of feet all headed towards my room. Very

quickly my room, and the door way, filled to my great surprise with boys! Boys of all sizes from

quite small children to boys close to my own age spilled into the room until even the door was

full of faces peeking in. Each boy was wearing something completely different, whether fancy

clothing or patched up rags, however, none of their clothes were new and every boy had some

sort of adornment. Head bands and feathers seemed to be the most popular, but many also

wore bracelets of shells, bone, and rock. Why there must have been at least twenty some odd

boys decked out strangely trying to get into the small room. All of them were chattering

excitedly to each other, and to me, with questions like "Who are you?" Why are you dressed so

funny?" and "You sure sleep a lot!" By this time I was feeling immensely bewildered and was

wondering who in this mass I could possibly talk to, since all of them seemed to speak at once.

Suddenly David's face appeared among the crowd and he quickly pushed his way forwards.

"Quiet down everyone!" he said. "Where is Pip? I thought he was supposed to be bringing her

food?" "Here I am!" called the boy who was apparently named Pip. "And I've still got her food

too." This exchange quieted the crowd of boys enough for another child to exclaim "And I have

her drink!" Both boys pushed their way through to me where I was presented with the bowl

and a flagon. "Wait , wait Grandma! What's a flagon? I've never heard of a flagon before."

"Well Jeanette a flagon is a kind of large cup, usually used for drinking wine." "Oh, well okay

then," Now back to my story. The two small boys had brought me a bowl and a cup but both

were empty. I was upset and puzzled and cried out "There's nothing in them!" "Course there's

nothin in them!" said Pip "You have to imagine that its' there and then it will be there." I

thought that this was the craziest thing that I had ever heard and said so, but at this all of the

boys started back up with their chatter throwing out helpful hints about imagination. Even

David was smiling and nodding in agreement with their statements, so with a sigh I closed my

eyes and tried to think of my favorite soup and a cup of cold frothy milk. Suddenly the bowl

warmed in my hands and I opened my eyes. The bowl was full of soup and my cup filled with

milk! I stared at them in shock for a moment and then sputtered "I don't understand! That's

impossible!" At this the boys started babbling "Its' magic!" now grandchildren I don't think

that I would normally have been able to will my imagination to think of food so strongly but

was starving and this gave me an added incentive to believe that the food was real. I couldn't

understand what had just happened, but my growling stomach was telling me that I should stop

wondering why and start eating instead. The soup was delicious! And the milk was sweeter and

more refreshing than any I had ever had before. It was a wonderful feeling to have a warm and

full stomach after my long fast. Once I had finished the meal I began my own round of

questions. "Where am I?" I asked "And how long have I been asleep?" "You have been sleeping

three days" David answered "And you are in the Tree House of the Lost Boys." Three days! I

thought to myself. Good Grief! "Have you Lost Boys been taking care of me that entire time?"

I asked. "Yes and no" David said "I found you on the beach with a plank of wood stuck in your

side and your left shoulder out of socket. I fixed your shoulder and pulled the wood out. Then I

bound up your side as best I could and then took you back to my camp. I left to go and tell the

Indian's Wise Woman that I had found you and that she needed to get to the Tree House as

soon as possible. When I came back you were gone, so I trailed you until I came by you in the

rocks. After you passed out again I carried you the rest of the way to the Tree House. Wise

Woman came and treated you, fixing up your side much better than I had done. It was touch

and go for a while. You lost a lot of blood and we were afraid that you wouldn't make it, but I

guess the Neverland magic helped to see you through." Magic again. I still was not sure that I

believed in magic even after my meal but my doubt was stricken in an instant when another

person came into the room. Actually she came through one of the windows, a small bright and

shining ball of light whizzing around the room only to stop and land on the tray that so recently

held my meal. "Ha! Your' awake! I told these silly boys that you would make it but they

thought I was crazy. Whose the crazy ones now huh?" "What are you?!" I exclaimed. "Don't

you know a fairy when you see one? I'm Tinkerbell by the way and I'm the one who really

saved you. David would have never known that you were there unless I had told him." the

apparent fairy said smugly. Again I was at a loss for words but managed to somehow get out a

"Thank You" to which Tinkerbell answered "Your welcome!" After this exchange I then asked

"So where am I again? And what is this place?" "You are on the island of Neverland!" said Pip

"And we are the Lost Boys and this is our Tree House. In Neverland you never grow up! We

always stay young and all we do is play and have adventures." "That's right! David interjected,

"We are all of the kids who never want to grow up and our leader is Peter Pan, but he is gone

right now so that leaves me in charge." "But Peter gave you his sword!" a small voice belonging

to my cupbearer said. David replied "I know Rags but I am still going to believe that Peter is

going to come back some day." This quieted them momentarily until one of the Lost Boys said

"Now you know about us, we want to hear about you!" This was backed by a resounding chorus

of "Yes let's hear it!" "Tell us a story!" I could not refuse them grandchildren, they had saved

my life after all, so I told them everything about my past. I told them the good things and the

bad things but when I reached the end about the pirates taking the ship and killing my father,

my control left me and I began to cry. This sent the boys into a great tizzy and I had numerous

hankies shoved in my direction and mutters of "Please don't cry!" and "I would have showed

them pirates if I had been there!" After I regained control of my tears, I yawned and said "I am

very grateful to all of you for rescuing me but I hurt horribly and I am so sleepy." This

statement acted like a shock to David who immediately began ordering everyone out of the

room even Tinkerbell was asked to leave until only he, Pip, and another boy stood in the room.

"This is Sam" said David "He is going to protect you and Pip here will get you anything that you

need." Sam was tall but looked younger than David with curly blond hair that stuck out over his

ears and big blue eyes. Sam said, "We should probably change your bandage before you go to

sleep again since you might not wake up until tomorrow." This seemed like a wise decision so

between Sam, Pip, and I, we managed to reapply a fresh bandage to my wound. Then I slept.

I woke again the next morning just as Sam had guessed that I would. I sat up and found that I

wanted to walk about. I stood and slowly walked towards the door. It was very early in the

morning and when I opened the door to my room I stopped in surprise to see David stretched

out asleep in front of my door, sword in hand. Recovering from my surprise, I looked out of the

doorway and at my surroundings. I was standing on sort of a deck or walkway that was

connected to a great many other walkways. As I stepped over David and onto the path I

realized that all of these paths were made around a tree. This tree however was huge! The

tree was so gigantic that I could not see all the way around it and the back of my room was

really the tree itself! The whole place was strange and beautiful. Exotic birds filled the air with

their cries and flowers seemed to grow on the tree and even on the walkways! Vines hung

from the tree branches and other larger things hung down that I quickly realized were a sort of

hanging bed, with canopies made of wood over them. The walkways, which all had railings or

netting on them, led up to these strange bedrooms, above them, and all around the giant tree

all the way to the ground below. My movements must have woken David for he began to stir.

He stretched, yawned, and stood up saying "Good morning." "Good morning to you" I

answered "Why were you sleeping in front of my door?" "I was guarding you in case pirates

attacked. I took over for Sam at midnight." David said. "There are pirates on this island?" I

asked. "Well they don't usually attack us but if something new or disturbing happens like that

bad storm they try to take advantage of it" replied David "But Tinkerbell can usually tell us if

Hook is on the prowl." "Hook, whose that? I asked. "Hook is the captain of the pirates at Pirate

Cove and our worst enemy" David said. Oh, wonderful, I thought to myself, an island with

magic and pirates. I did not say this out loud but instead asked if I had to imagine myself a plate

and bowl for breakfast. David laughed loudly at this and then asked if he could help me down to

the ground where he said that breakfast was being served. I agreed and we gradually made our

way to the ground level. At the base of the tree was a clearing with gorgeous pool of clear

water with several small fish swimming in it, there were what also appeared to be tunnels of a

sort and other levels of ground where there were other clearings. We went past the pool,

through a tunnel and into a different clearing where a long table was set with utensils and

platters of steaming food. Only a few of the Lost Boys were awake at that time since it really

was still very early in the morning, but as we sat down to eat more and more joined us until the

table was full. I noticed that all of the boys were armed with some kind of weapon or another.

Most just carried a simple dagger but other had slingshots, bows, and even some swords like

the one that David had at his side. At that moment I reached for my own weapon and was

stricken to find that it and the scabbard were gone. "Where is my sword?!" I said panicking.

"Don't worry. It's back in your room safe and untouched. We had to take it off of you to treat

your side." David replied. I was not completely mollified by this answer but I let it go since I

planned on going straight back to my room after breakfast. When I finished eating, Pip escorted

me back to my room, keeping up a running stream of conversation naming every bird, flower,

and plant that we passed by. I immediately saw my sword hanging on the wall beside the bed

which was a great relief to me. I had Pip take it down for me and asked for a cloth to polish it.

Pip did more than this even providing me with a strange kind of polish that took away the crust

of salt that the seawater had put on my blade. After cleaning my sword, I fell back asleep and

did not wake again until lunch. This time instead of going back down to the ground, Pip brought

me a platter with food on it. After my lunch I again fell asleep and slept until supper. At supper I

went back down to the ground and again ate with the boys. They were much less shy of me

than they had been at breakfast and bombarded me with questions. After supper I went back

up to my room and slept some more.

I continued in this pattern for three more days, being waited on by different boys until on the

fourth day I finally found the energy to begin doing more than eat and sleep. By now I only had

one thought, and that was to wash my hair, which at that time grandchildren reached past my

waist even when I wore it in a braid. It was encrusted with sea salt and felt disgusting but I

could do nothing about it because I couldn't brush it as my left arm was still sore. Also, I was

too weak to wash it by myself. So on day four I gave in and asked Sam and Pip to help me wash

and comb my hair. At first I was afraid that they would refuse me but instead they both grinned

and went to fetch bowls of hot water. Washing my hair turned out to be a messy job since I

tried to direct the boys but they only laughed at me and proceeded to wash not just my hair,

but also most of themselves by pouring water on each other and throwing the soap bar back

and forth. Eventually though, my hair and both boys were clean. Next I needed them to brush

out my hair since I could really only reach one side with my right hand and this became tiring

after a while. So Sam produced a comb from his pocket and began working on one side while

Pip started on the other. They finished combing quickly and Pip skillfully braided my hair back

and tied it with a leather cord. "How did you learn to do that Pip?" I asked. "I make ropes" he

answered "It wasn't that much different." I could not help but smile at his remark and we all

went down for supper. Not many days after this I had a surprise. Sam and David came puffing

into my room very early in the morning carrying a trunk between them. When I saw it I realized

with joy that it was my own! Some of the Lost Boys had been playing along the shoreline and

found it partially buried in the sand. After looking inside of and finding womens' clothes they

brought the trunk back to me. I was delighted, after over a week of wearing the same clothing I

had been getting worried. Now I had my whole wardrobe! All of the clothes needed washing

but I had nothing that was overly fancy so the saltwater had not ruined anything. I quickly

corralled Pip and Rags and with their help, washed all of my clothes, setting them out on the

boardwalk to dry. The weeks went by and I recovered much faster than I had expected. Within

a month I was feeling well enough to run up and down the walkways playing the games of the

Lost Boys. However, I still knew my limits and I did not try any climbing or swinging on vines like

many of the boys did. During this time I got to know all of the Lost Boys until they were like

brothers to me. They often teased me and would put frogs in my bed and played many other

pranks on me. In fact David's favorite trick was to drop things on me like a blanket or leaves

when I would walk below him on the lower levels. This did not faze me and I enthusiastically

pranked them back. I was eager though to begin practicing my sword fighting and would try

slow short practices to help me regain my strength. After about two and a half months, I felt

strong enough to start some more strenuous practices and at the beginning of the third month I

was ready to spar with someone. David was the obvious choice for my sparing partner, as he

was the best of the Lost Boys at swordplay. So one afternoon after I had warmed up for a while,

I asked him if he would mind working with me. Now I have to say grandchildren that I was

rather arrogant and had been thinking to myself that I would beat him easily as I had probably

been one of the best swordsman in England even though I was of a young age. David proved

me wrong however and was instead an equal opponent. We started out slowly both feeling out

each other's strengths and weaknesses then began to move faster and faster. In and out we

danced. Parry! Thrust! Spin! Jab! Our swords rang with the force of our blows as each of us

tried harder and harder to overcome the other. Often one of us would surprise the other with a

technique that the other was not familiar with but neither of us was able to gain an advantage

over the other. I had always been quick to invent new moves in my fighting but this was taxing

me to the limit! Every new idea that I came up with and played out was met with one equally as

good. By this time our swords were singing as they sped through the air as we gave each other

our best, however, both David and I were panting from exhaustion and the strain of the fight.

We were both worn out but our competitive spirits would not let us give in. Finally I tripped

over a stone and went down on my knee. Seeing this as a good opportunity to quit I called out

for a truce. David immediately pulled back, and we both stood gasping trying catch our breath. I

was honestly very impressed with David's skill and once we had regained our wind I asked him

if he would like to practice with me every day. He readily agreed and from that day forward we

would practice our swordplay together.

Now grandchildren I wish that I could say that things continued on happily from there but it was

not so. As much as I enjoyed Neverland and staying with the Lost Boys, I was not content. Too

be perfectly honest I was homesick. Even though I had no one left, I longed to be back in

America or on a ship in the high sea. I had always been independent but now I felt a sense of

urgency and as I healed and started to explore the wonders of the island. David however, had

other ideas about what I should be doing. At first he set boundaries for me to stay within and

eventually moved to requiring me to always have "friend" on my wanderings as I grew stronger.

This drove me crazy! It was frustrating being watched everywhere I went and the fact that the

other boys ran wild made it even worse. One very hot day we were down at the beach

swimming and trying to stay cool in the shade of the cliffs. Out a good ways in the bay was a

large rock where the mermaids liked to sit. I wanted to go out to the rock and talk to the

mermaids and seeing as how I was a powerful swimmer I figured that I would have no problem

reaching it. I voiced my idea but David objected strongly saying that the tide would soon come

in and be too swift for me to swim back to shore in my still semi weakened state. I protested

this saying that I had at least an hour before the tide came in and that a swim would do me

good. Finally, David gave in and I swam out to the rock. Oh grandchildren, mermaids are

fascinating creatures! They are so beautiful and unearthly yet they can be so vain and foolish or

incredibly intelligent. They had long hair like seaweed and their tails sparkled with gems.

Mermaids are very diverse and unique each having special and different knowledge. Some

cared only for their looks and were absolutely gorgeous but knew nothing except how to

improve their beauty. Others were not as stunning but had great wealth's of knowledge about

the sea and the deeps. I spent 45 minutes with the mermaids and learned all sorts of wonderful

things about the sea and what lies beneath it, but it was time for me to head back. As I started

my swim back towards shore I was suddenly caught in a chilling rip tide. I tried to call out but all

my energy was absorbed in trying to fight the current. The mermaids dared not try to rescue

me for the current was too strong for even them so despite my best efforts I was slowly being

pulled out to the open sea. It was Tinkerbell who again alerted the Lost Boys to my troubles and

helped them to rescue me. With her fairy dust she quickly had Sam and David flying out to

rescue me as I was still not very good at the whole flying thing (I had not yet mastered directing

myself in flight usually the wind blew me around). I can't say how humiliating it was to have to

be carried back to shore. David said nothing to me but the unspoken "I told you so" could be

felt hanging in the air. After this incident my friendship with David grew cold. I felt like

everything he said rubbed me the wrong way. Also I was discontent. I longed to be away from

Neverland more than ever. During this time I made friends with the Indian princess Tiger Lily

and often shared my frustrations with her. By now I could roam freely as I pleased as long as I

told someone where I was going beforehand, so I often visited the Indian village and spent a

great deal of time there. I discussed with Tiger Lily ideas of how to get back to America and we

finally came up with a plan to build a small sturdy boat. The Indians were great fisherman and

boat makers, frequently raiding the pirates who lived on the other side of the island. Tiger Lilies

older brother and some of the men in the village had agreed to build a boat for me in exchange

for me teaching them how to read. It surprised me that they wanted to learn this but I gladly

said yes to their offer.

Tiger Lily had a sort of 'tree house' of her own in the forest and we regularly met there to talk

and plan. I loved sitting up there safe from the dangers of the forest talking to Tiger Lily.

Together we carefully laid out the plans for my journey and when we were not making plans we

marveled at how different our lives were. She was a princess and was surrounded by family

members, while I on the other hand had slowly lost my family and felt as if I had no permanent

home. She showed me how to embroider elaborate beadwork onto buckskin dresses and even

gave me a hide dress of my own. We often would set up our meetings by sending pigeons back

and forth with notes on them and communicated quite efficiently in this fashion. One day I

received a note from Tiger Lily that she not only wanted to meet at the tree house but wanted

to stay there over night. This was not uncommon for us so I readily sent back my agreement. I

did however have one problem. No one was left at the Tree House. All of the Lost Boys had

decided to go on an adventure and climb the mountain. I had stayed back as I had recently

twisted my ankle and wanted to rest it. Everyone felt that I would be safe at the Tree House

since they would only spend one night away and were planning to be back later that afternoon.

Now I knew that I should probably wait for the Lost Boys to come back or at least try to send

them a message but I really had no idea exactly where they were or when they would get back

so I wrote a note and left it on my bed. I packed a few items and left the Tree House and met

Tiger Lilly at our fort. We laughed the morning away and took a light lunch up in the tree. After

lunch we started gathering orchids and by midafternoon had several large bouquets of them. I

was bending down to pick a particularly pretty flower when I heard an abrupt cry from Tiger

Lily. To my horror a pirate had a hold of her arm and I watched as she violently wrenched

herself away from him. A large number of other pirates had appeared beside him and I then

feared for our lives. We were not far from the tree and ran as fast as we could to it, but there

were many pirates and they almost cut us off. We scrambled up the tree and were able to bring

up our ladder before the pirates got to it but it was a close call. Swiftly Tiger Lily grabbed her

bow and began to pick off the pirates below us they however also had an archer with them who

sent us both diving for cover. The few pirates that had first attacked us had doubled in number

and now several more could be seen coming through the jungle. At this point, grandchildren,

we knew that we were in trouble. We were not expected back until tomorrow and there was a

good chance that by then rescue would be too late. Tiger Lily only had so many arrows with her

and it would not take the pirates long to come up with some sort of ladder to scale the tree. As

we guessed the pirates had already thought of a way to get us out. Several men with spikes

came to the base of the tree and began pounding them into the trunk. Tiger Lily was able to

keep them away from the tree for a short time but presently her arrows ran out. Now all we

could do was watch and wait while the men below us slowly worked their way up the tree.

There was now about thirty pirates around the tree and they each took turns working on the

stakes. Suddenly two of the men cried out and went down with arrows in them! Then from a

different direction another pirate fell. This threw the pirates into a great confusion and more

and more men succumbed to the bite of an arrowhead. Tiger Lily and I were shocked and

curious of the identity our rescuers. Surely we thought the braves in the village had somehow

discovered our plight and had come to rescue us. The pirates now numbered between fifteen

and twenty after their loss from the unseen archers. A sudden movement from below us caught

my eye and I saw a form jump in the midst of the pirates and cut two of the men down. I

realized then that it was David and when another person joined him I recognized Tiger Lilly's

brother, Eagle Feather, the same one who I had struck a deal with. They began a fierce battle

with the pirates which Tiger Lilly and I quickly joined. She fought with a long dagger that she

kept with her and we stood back to back while fending off the pirates. It was a close thing but

to my astonishment we were much better swordsman than the villainous pirates and eventually

either killed all of them or beat them back. When the battle was over we all stood breathing

heavily in an uncomfortable silence. Tiger Lily was the first to speak. "Thank you for rescuing

us!" She blurted out. At this David wheeled around to face me and exclaimed, "Why did you

leave the tree house?! I mean where were you! Why didn't you leave a message or

something!" "But, I did leave a note….. It was on my bed…. Didn't you get it?" I asked in

vexation. "No! There was no note and all we knew when we got back was that you were gone!"

David said in a rising voice. "I can't believe you left the Tree House! You were supposed to stay

there until we got back. I had no clue of where you were and you were attacked by pirates…..

You could have been killed!" At this point my temper got a hold of me and all of my pent up

anger from the past months came spilling hotly out "I did leave a note!" I said. "And I'm sorry

that you didn't find it but I'm not a baby I can take care of myself! You never let me do my own

stuff you always have to make rules about it and then worry even if I stick to them! You won't

let me go down to the beach by myself, I can't walk in the jungle when I want to, and too top it

all half the time I have to have a 'bodyguard' to protect me! Well, let me tell you, I can protect

myself just fine thank you and even though it could have gone badly with the pirates I wish that

you would have never come and rescued us!" I suddenly stopped, horrified at what I had just

said and a wave of guilt washed over me. Tiger Lily and Eagle Feathers stared at the two of us

and when David started to speak I turned away and ran through the forest. Tears streamed

down my face as I pushed through the undergrowth and rushed back to the Tree House. I ran

straight to my room and flung myself onto the bed and buried my face in the blankets. I cried

until I felt empty inside. The sun was starting to set in the sky and I walked out onto the

boardwalk and stared vacantly at the sunset over the jungle. I heard footsteps coming behind

me but I stood rooted to the ground refusing to turn around. Out of the corner of my eye I saw

David walk up a few feet away from me and lean against the railing and look out over the

jungle. We stood in silence for a long time until I finally turned to him and rasped out "Why?

Why did you rescue me? I mean let's be honest we have not exactly been on friendly terms

lately. " David came towards me and stood so that we were facing each other. "Why? Because

it's my job and it was also the right thing to do." He said. But I was still bitter so I countered,

"Oh come on! All I have been is trouble to you and the Lost Boys. First I was a pain to take care

of because of my injuries, now that I am no longer hurt I have broken your rules and went

against your wishes, and now I am planning to leave!" "Yes, I understand that," David replied

"But I have to tell you something…..I should have said this a long time ago but I was afraid to.

Look the truth is I love you. I've been crazy about you ever since I found you on the beach. I set

up rules because I was worried about you. It's my own fault that you have been so stifled, I

mean no wonder you're angry with me! Please here me out though. I'm really sorry that I hurt

you and even if you do decide to leave no matter what happens you still have my friendship

and love." I was shocked. A sudden flood of emotions rushed through me and I felt fresh tears

spring to my eyes. "What have I done?" I whispered. I tried to turn away but David pulled me in

and held me tightly while sobs wracked my body. "I am SO sorry" I said muffled by David's shirt.

"It's okay, I forgive you" David said and then he kissed me. For the second time that day I was

shocked. It was like seeing fireworks and being stung all at the same time. I was so surprised

that "WAIT A MINUTE! GRANDMA YOU DIDN'T SAY THIS STORY HAD KISSING IN IT!" "Oh

Joshua you make me smile. I suppose we can skip that part if it would make you feel better."

"Aww but Grandma I think it's so sweet!" "Now Jeanette, your brother is hiding under the

pillows. I think that we should be kind to him and move on with the story." After my talk with

David I made the decision that I was not going to leave. The Lost Boys were thrilled with this

news and decided to throw a party the next evening in my honor. We invited the whole Indian

village to the party. I spent all day preparing for the occasion, scrubbing dirty tables, finding

makeshift seats, and raking up leaves to spruce up the place.

Late in the day I had an unexpected surprise. Rags and Pip came running up to me dragging a

very long and heavy object. "Look what we found!" cried Rags. The article was covered in some

sort of wrapping that was mildewed, sandy, appearing to have spent some time at the bottom

of the ocean. Upon closer inspection I realized that the binding was oilcloth wrapped tightly

around the item. I slowly unwrapped the oilcloth and gasped when I revealed its' contents. The

strange object was a mighty broadsword encased in a fine scabbard. What made it special was

that I recognized it. It was my father's two handed broadsword. "Thank you" I told the boys

"This belonged to my father. I can't believe it survived the ocean. It means a great deal to me."

My heart swelled with memories of my father as I cradled the sword and brought it up to my

room. I gently laid it on the bed and slowly unsheathed it. The sword had amazingly remained

unscathed from the effects of the ocean and I carefully polished away any small defects that

remained. Not long after this Tiger Lily arrived to help me fix my hair and choose the right dress

for the occasion (up till that time I had been wearing mostly pants and tops). We finally decided

on a long dark green dress that flowed softly about me with gold stitching that matched the

gold of my sword belt and scabbard. It was the nicest dress that I owned and I was excited to

have an opportunity to wear it. Tiger Lily combed, curled, and partially braided my hair, sewing

in small flowers and green and yellow hair ribbons that were a gift from Sam. I had never felt so

special or so beautiful before. It was as if Tiger Lily had magically given me some of her own

distinction and turned me into a princess just like her. The drums started signaling the start of

the party and also were my cue to make an entrance. I threw my arms around Tiger Lily in a

grateful hug and after thanking her I put on my fathers' sword slipping it across my back so that

it was hidden beneath the cape I was wearing to protect my dress. Then we walked arm in arm

to the top of the staircase leading to the lower level. Together we slowly made our way down

the stairs and were greeted with cheering and applause. I could not help smiling as I walked to

the center of the clearing. "Could I have everyone's attention?" I said "First, thank you all for

coming! I am so glad that you could be here with me to celebrate. Second, I have a gift that I

would like to give. David, would you come over here?" David walked up to me and stood

waiting expectantly. I took off my father's sword and sheath and held them in my hands. "This

was my father's sword." I said speaking loudly so everyone could hear me. "It is the last object

of his that I have to remember him by. However, I would like to present it to David and the Lost

Boys as a gift in thanks for all that they have done for me." I handed the sword to David and as I

did so the clearing was again filled with loud cheers. David reverently turned the sword over,

admiring the superior craftsmanship. David then turned and smiled at me and said, "The Lost

Boys also have a gift for you." He gestured to someone behind me and two of the Lost Boys

came forwards carrying something very large between the two of them. It was long and

rectangular with a heavy cloth over it. They set the object down in front of me and with

beaming smiles pulled the sheet off. I caught my breath when I saw what was underneath. It

was a huge and beautiful wooden chest with incredible carvings on the top and sides. I could

not believe it! The carvings were pictures of the adventures that the Lost Boys and I had had

together. Each scene was highly detailed and carefully carved into the wood. The chest itself

was about two feet tall and five feet long and along with being intricately carved was also

stained a gorgeous deep mahogany color. I could not imagine how long it had taken to create

this and I was dually impressed with it. "It's so…..oh…it's wonderful!" was all that I could

stammer out. David had a giant grin on his face and replied, "We all helped with it. I did the

carvings and Sam stained it but all the other boys either helped pick out the wood or sand it or

had some part in creating it. I'm glad that you like it so much." "Like it!" I cried "I will treasure it

forever and I plan to pass it on to my family and I hope that it goes on to see many generations.

Oh thank you! It's amazing." Everyone wanted to look at our respective gifts but after

everyone had finished marveling over the trunk I had the boys take it up to my room.

Grandchildren the party we had that night was one I will always remember. We had mounds of

food, not only from our own stores but the Indians also brought food. I tried strange and spicy

dishes and desserts that would melt in your mouth. And there was music and dancing along

with a great deal of storytelling! I danced with David and Sam and practically all of the Lost Boys

and some of the Indian braves and we had a glorious time that lasted late into the night. It was

very late I think that I must have fallen asleep since the next thing that I remember was Pip

waking me and taking me by the arm and leading me up to my room. The party was still going

strong at that point but as soon as my head touched the pillow I was fast asleep again.

The next few weeks after the party flew by for me. It was like I was in this crazy but amazing

dream and I kept wondering when I would wake up from it. My wake up did come eventually

though and it led to my first big adventure with the Lost Boys. The adventure started out when

a group of the Lost Boys went out to collect coconuts. They were on the edge of the jungle and

had separated with some of the boys scanning the ground around the trees and the other boys

were actually up in the trees. Now most of the time the Lost Boys were pretty good at keeping

a watch for pirates but this time they were taken by surprise. A small band of pirates had snuck

up on the boys and attempted to take them prisoner. The boys fought bravely but were

overpowered by the bigger and stronger pirates. The three boys on the ground were taken but

the pirates did not see the boys that were in the trees. The boys that escaped went running

back to the Tree House overflowing with their strange story. The reason that I say their story

was strange is because normally the pirates would simply try to kill the Lost Boys when they

encountered them so it was very unique that they took the boys captive. We immediately

began to make plans to rescue them and puzzled over why they would take them as prisoners

in the first place. Over the next two days David sent out scouts and gathered information from

the spies in pirate town but did not come up with any concrete ideas of why the boys had been

captured, however he did find out where they were being held captive at. On the third morning

we had our answer. A lone pirate was seen walking towards the Tree House with a white flag.

Three of the boys went out to meet him and received the message that he was carrying. The

message was from Hook himself. It stated that he would trade the three Lost Boys that they

had captured in return for "the Lost Girl". He meant me! I was surprised that Hook would have

any interest in me but after hearing the stories about Wendy I should not have been so

shocked. David was incensed that Hook would ask for a trade. "Does Hook really think that we

would make a trade like that?! He knows were not stupid. Besides he wouldn't keep his

promise and instead would kill all four of you! He's just trying to bait us and push us into

action." He said angrily. Action was exactly what needed to happen though, since Hook had

given us three days to make the trade or he would execute the prisoners. With renewed vigor

we began focusing all of our efforts to make plans for breaking out the three boys. After a day

of frantic plotting we finally came up with a proposal for freeing the boys that seemed to have

the least flaws. The plan was to have three separate groups of Lost Boys sneak into the pirate

town the next evening around midnight. There was going to be a celebration in honor of Hook

for capturing the three boys that night so most of the pirates would be in a concentrated area.

One group of boys was to watch the party and if necessary provide a distraction there. The next

group was to act as spies and lookouts for the third group, and the third group was going to

actually break out the prisoners. We knew that there was a very good chance of this all being a

trap, but we were not going to simply sit by while Hook killed our comrades. The day of the

escape we all slept late or took naps so that we would be able to stay awake and alert for our

night mission. We also carefully sharpened our weapons and put together light packs of battle

gear so that we could move swiftly. David assigned me with Pip in the group that was to be the

spies.

We waited impatiently for darkness to fall and everyone could feel the tension in the air. Finally

an hour before midnight it was time to move. Each group slowly moved down to the pirate

town and took their positions. As part of the spy group I was clothed in black just like the other

boys, the only difference was that I also had my cape on with the hood up so that none of the

pirates would recognize me. We split up in pairs and slowly snuck to the edge of the town. Pip

was my partner and our job was to take out the pirate guarding the front of the building where

the prisoners were held. The other boys were to scout out the area around the building to

make sure that it was safe for us and that no other pirates would come to the guards rescue.

Pip and I hung back in the shadows and watched the guard who stood in front of the entrance

of the shack and waited for the all clear signal. The time seemed to stretch into hours as we

listened for the signal. Suddenly we heard the go ahead, an owl hoot twice. The sentry

watching the doorway was a huge pirate with inky tattoos on his arms and legs and an ugly scar

on his face. He carried a large scimitar at his side along with a bandolier full of bullets and a

pistol. This pirate was obviously a seasoned fighter who would have given us a great deal of

trouble if it came to blows however we were not planning on fighting him. Pip had a blow gun

and carried three darts with him that had a powerful sleeping potion on the tips. The drug

lasted only twenty minutes but it worked almost instantly and the victim would remember

nothing afterwards. If everything worked out the way it was supposed to the other Lost Boys

should have the three prisoners free and out of the pirate town by the time the guard woke up.

We quietly sneaked closer to the guard until we were about thirty feet away. At this point I split

up from Pip and hid directly across from him. Then I started whistling and casually walked out

into the street towards the pirate. The guard started at my unexpected appearance and called

out to me, but I continued to whistle unconcernedly and stopped in the middle of the road. I

had my hood drawn low over my face and my cloak pulled tight around me so the pirate could

not see my face. The pirate was now thoroughly unsettled and began stomping towards me

with a raised voice. Suddenly the pirate stopped, wavered for a moment, and slumped to the

ground. I grinned at Pip who was standing over the pirate and had snuck up behind him while I

provided the distraction. So far so good with our plan. We then took our positions, one on each

side of the doorway, keeping a look out for other pirates. A minute later we heard a soft knock

on the door the signal that David's group was inside the building. We waited patiently for the

second knock to tell us that the prisoners were free and that we could leave our post. The

second knock however, never came and our time was beginning to run short. Suddenly the

door behind us was wrenched open violently and two pirates came stumbling out and fell to

the ground between us! The door was immediately slammed behind them and Pip and I could

hear a lock slide into place. We swiftly drew our swords and began to edge away as the pirates

pulled themselves to their feet. They advanced upon us and to our horror were joined by two

more pirates. As we continued to back away Pip elbowed me and said "That's Hook! The one on

the left there. Watch out for him! He's tricky and first-rate with a sword." I was very curious

about Hook as this was the first time I had seen the man who caused the Lost Boys so much

fear and frustration. Hook was dressed elegantly in a bright red coat with black and gold

trimmings and fine tri cornered black hat. Hook had not yet drawn his sword and it hung at his

side, it was an graceful long sword with an intricately detailed basket handle perfectly designed

for dueling. The pirates continued to push us back until we were forced up against the side of a

darkened house. The pirates were now surrounding us and the two that had come through the

door advanced upon Pip and I and began a furious swordfight with us. My opponent was quick

but I was much more advanced than him and I soon dispatched him and turned my energy to

helping Pip. Together we finished the second pirate nonetheless we could see more pirates

coming forwards behind Hook but for the moment we had an opening to escape. "Run Pip!" I

said and together we took off down a side street. The closest pirate took a swipe at us as we

ran by and I hesitated for just a moment to fend him off but this proved to be a grave mistake. I

watched in relief as Pip disappeared into the darkness, I on the other hand was trapped.

I was again backed up against the wall, but this time I was surrounded by a great crowd of

pirates. I kept my back close to the wall and any pirate that came in close to me I promptly

fended off. Unexpectedly Hook drew his sword and stepped towards me. The other pirates

stepped back slightly and I realized that Hook meant to fight me personally. Hook spoke and

began taunting me saying "Come on boy show your face. Do you think that you are so brave

and superior that we should not fight face to face? It doesn't matter though when I kill you your

identity will be revealed." Up to this time I had only spoken the two words in Hook's presence

and I still had my hood pulled down to hide my face so when Hook began insulting me I realized

that he thought I was one of the Lost Boys. I hoped that this would be an advantage to me and

that I could possibly use the surprise of my gender to escape. Hook slowly moved towards me,

a sure sign of a seasoned sword fighter, holding his sword at the ready. Then in a lightning

movement he gave a savage thrust which I barely blocked. From there it was all fast paced

blocking on my part to meet each of his cunning attacks. We were close to evenly matched in

sword prowess, but he had height and weight to his advantage. Again and again Hook

attempted to pull me away from the wall and out into the open where I would be vulnerable

but I stood firm in my position. Abruptly a figure dropped down beside me from the rooftop. It

was David! Pip had made it back to the rendezvous and as soon as David heard what had

happened he immediately went back for me. Hook jumped back at David's sudden appearance

but then closed in again saying, "Always the hero David. How very brave of you to come and try

to save the day. Really though, what's one Lost Boy to you? There will always be Lost Boys,

what is so special about one measly boy?" Before David could answer I threw back my hood

and pulled my hair tie out so that my hair hung loose down my back. At this revelation, all of

the pirates stopped and stared in shock at me. "So," said Hook with a sneer "There _really is_ a

Lost Girl…." David and I however did not stick around to hear the rest of Hook's sentence.

Instead we seized the opportunity to escape from the pirates. With a few hasty slashes at the

still stupefied pirates we were able to force our way through the crowd and then we were off

and running through the darkness. We didn't stop running until we reached the rendezvous

point and even then we feared pursuit and made a hurried retreat back to the Tree House.

When we reached the Tree House David explained his side of the story to Pip and I. David's

group had successfully entered the pirate town and broke into the building where the Lost Boys

were being held. They had overpowered what they thought to be the only guard and had

gotten the three boys out when a hidden band of pirates jumped out and attacked them. Two

of the pirates the boys had been able to push out the door and the others were eventually

fended off so that they could get out of the building. Because of the unexpected appearance of

the pirates they had been unable to signal Pip and I that we could leave. Once out of the

building they made their way back to the rendezvous point and waited for us. After David told

us his side of the story Pip and I explained our version to him and the other boys. By the time

are tales were told it was very early in the morning and we were all exhausted from the

exertions of the night. Everyone drifted off to their beds and we slept until very late the next

morning. And that grandchildren, was the first of many great adventures for me. "Oh Grandma,

won't you tell us more?" "Not tonight Joshua, you and Jeanette need to get some sleep too! I

will tell you more tomorrow night."

"Are you ready to hear more of the story Joshua?" "Yes Grandma! Tell us what happened

next!" Joshua responded. Alright then where should I start back up? I suppose my next big

adventure started with a storm and a fight. The weather had been hot and muggy for several

weeks but not a drop of rain had fallen. The temperatures were sky high and no one felt like

doing much with the sun beating down on us with a searing heat. We had been hoping and

waiting for a storm to come but the day it arrived the sun seemed to shine down hotter than

ever in stark contrast with the luminous black clouds towering on the horizon. The other

important thing that happened that day other than the impending storm was that I had a

terrific row with David. It's funny grandchildren I don't even remember what we were arguing

over, although it was probably something silly, it seemed very important at the time. 300 years

kind of erases the importance of an argument. Oh grandchildren I do remember however that it

was a rather impressive fight. I am rather embarrassed to say this now but we yelled at each

other and I even got so mad I threw my boot at him. Needless to say we didn't talk much for

the rest of the day and were still feeling hostile to each other when evening began to fall.

During the day the storm had slowly grown in strength and now in the late evening light had

taken on the characteristics of a hurricane. Everyone decided that it would probably be safer

and drier if we took refuge in the cave underneath the roots of the great tree. The Lost Boys

rarely slept in the cave but kept blankets and supplies in the cave for bad storms just like this

one. Everyone brought down their pillows and extra blankets so that they would be

comfortable in the cave. When everyone's stuff was laid out on the floor it looked like a giant

sleepover. The cave was not overly large but it was warm and dry so no one complained. The

Lost Boys gave me my own corner of the cave and tried to allow me some space and privacy.

Not long after the sun set the wind picked up with a furious howl and sent a driving rain across

the island. It did not take much time for all of us to scurry down into the cave where it was

warm and dry. Some of the boys started a fire and we quickly dried off in front of it and

prepared for bed. Usually David and I would sit and chat together before going to sleep but that

night we sat on opposite sides of the fire and didn't even give so much as a goodnight to each

other when we went to bed. I was tired from the oppressive heat of the day but I couldn't fall

asleep right away in my new surroundings and my argument preying on my mind. I lay awake

for an hour or so and just as I was relaxing I felt a sudden tug on my shoulder. It was Tinkerbell!

"Quick!" she said "There's a new boy here! He's out in the crows nest and I couldn't convince

him to climb down." Now before I go on let me explain something here. Every so often the Lost

Boys would have a newcomer to their midst when they would lose a boy to the pirates or

someone decided to go back and grow up. A new boy would always show up to replace him but

no one new when or how they would come. This poor boy happed to appear in the middle of

the hurricane. I quickly sat up and pulled my boots on. None of the Lost Boys were awake as we

figured that we didn't need to set a watch with this kind of storm. I grabbed my cloak and

quietly threaded my way through the sleeping boys and sneaked out of the cave. The wind was

blowing the rain so hard it was slanting sideways and I was soaked almost instantly. It buffeted

me and pushed me around so much that every step was difficult. The crows nest was the

highest point of the tree house and was used as a lookout tower to keep an eye on the pirate

town. The problem was that in this wind it would be dangerous to be up that high without

risking being blown off of the ladder. Nonetheless I knew I would have to go up there and try to

convince the new boy to come down. I started up the stairs that led to the ladder and slowly

began my ascent of the tree. When the stairs ended I began my climb on the rock face on the

wooden ladder the Lost Boys had cleverly attached to it. I was almost to the top of the rock

when Tinkerbell suddenly flew into my face. "Stop!" she shrieked "The bridge to the tree is

gone! I just saw it shatter in the wind." Now I faced a real problem. There was a gap between

where the rock face ended and the side of the tree. The Lost Boys had created a sort of wood

slash rope-bridge to span the gap so that one could continue the climb up the actual side of the

tree. I knew that I would be unable to cross this gap without a rope and it would also probably

be wiser to do it with some ones help. I went back down to the cave as quick as I could for the

storm was picking up in fury and I could only imagine what it was like up all alone in the crows

nest. I didn't want to wake up David after the fight we had, but I knew he would want to be in

on rescuing our stranger. So with a sigh I woke both David and Sam and swiftly filled them in on

the problem. After this we immediately went to look for several long ropes and made our way

up the rock. By now the wind was screaming in our faces and the rain was lashing us so hard we

had to yell to be heard above the noise of the storm. Thunder crashed above us as we crawled

up the stairs and when we reached the top of the rocks, the storm began to spit tiny pea-sized

hail at us. "I think I can make it across!" I yelled out over the storm "I just need those extra

ropes for when I come back." "It's too dangerous!" David hollered "I'll go up there on my own."

"I don't think you should go!" I responded "I'm smaller and lighter than both of you. What if the

boy up there is unconscious and has to be carried down? The less stress and weight that we can

put on the ladder the better it will be!" This was true and David could not come up with an

argument against it so I prepared myself to cross the gap. I tied three ropes around my waist.

Two of them Sam and David were going to hold and tie off when I got across the gap and the

other I was going to keep wrapped around my waist just in case I would need it later in my

climb. The gap between the rock and the tree was only about a foot and half wide but I would

have to make a sure jump and have a solid grip or risk falling and becoming stuck between the

rocks and the tree. The wind was stabbing into my eyes as I prepared to jump and my stomach

churned as I stared at the gap. I took a deep breath and leaped towards the tree keeping

focused on the ladder rungs that I intended to catch. I hit the ladder and tree hard, scraping my

knee in the process, as I scrambled to get a handhold on the wet and slippery rungs. I finally

acquired a sure grip and with a sigh of relief tied the two ropes from around my waist to the

ladder and began the climb upwards. A minute or so later I reached the crows nest. Tinkerbell

was already up there talking to the small boy who was curled up in the corner. "Hello!" I

shouted above the wind "I'm Karen and I am here to help you down." The boy answered in a

quavering voice "I want to get down from here but I'm too scared to climb the ladder." "Well

don't you worry about that!" I said "I'm going to tie this rope around your waist. I will have one

end around me and you will be on the other end. That way you should be safe." The boy had

shaggy brown hair which he constantly pushed out of his face as I carefully tied the rope around

him. He was only eight or nine years old but appeared to be in good shape and had deeply

bronzed skin reminding me of the Indian children. Once we were securely tied together I had

the boy start down the ladder first so that if he slipped and fell off of the ladder I would be able

to keep my grip and rescue him. Tinkerbell flew down to David and Sam to alert them of our

descent. When the boy reached the bottom of the ladder we encountered another problem.

The jump across the gap, which was small for the older boys and I, was going to be troublesome

for the younger boy to cross. After some yelling back a forth it was decided that Sam was going

to stand on the ledge across from the ladder, as he was smaller than David and the ledge was

narrow, and the boy would jump from the end of the ladder and Sam would try to catch him.

This was going to be tricky though as I had to go as far down the ladder as possible to leave as

much slack in the rope as I could since we were still tied together. The small boy stood on the

very last rung with my feet practically touching his head. Sam stood on the ready on the ledge

and I bellowed over the storm "One! Two! Three! Jump!" At that the boy pushed off from the

ladder and jumped over the gap crashing into Sam. The rope had just enough slack in it for him

to get across but I felt the sharp tug on my waist when he reached the other side. I quickly

crawled down the last few rungs and made my own leap over the gap.

We hastily made our way down the stairs and ran back to the safety of the cave. It was right

about midnight when we got back to the cave and although it had felt like much longer, our

escapade had really only lasted about thirty minutes. All four of us were exhausted and soaked

to the bone so we immediately built up the fire and sought out blankets to dry ourselves. The

commotion we made woke up the other Lost Boys and the cave was in uproar for the next

fifteen minutes or so. Our small newcomers name was Tuck. He was a recent orphan and was

rather frightened at first but became excited when he found out that he was in Neverland. "I've

always wanted to live in Neverland!" he told me. I hugged him and said "Well welcome and I

hope you enjoy it here as much as everyone else does." Tuck sat leaning against me with my

arm around him and it wasn't long before he fell into a deep sleep. Not long after this David

came over and sat down next to me. "I'm sorry for arguing with you" he said. "Me too" I

replied. "I'm especially sorry for throwing my boot at you" I said smiling. "I couldn't believe you

did that" David answered grinning. "Well I was kind of surprised myself… let's just forget

about the whole thing and try to get some sleep." I said with a yawn. I rested my head on

David's shoulder and closed my eyes. With our backs against the wall and our feet being

warmed the blazing fire we both soon fell into a deep sleep. The next morning the rain had

stopped and the sun shone with a cheerful brightness that it had lacked in the last few weeks,

in comparison to the scorching heat that it had produced before. The Tree House was in a

terrible state of disarray with branches strewn all over the ground, broken railings, and even

pieces of clothing and blankets hung in strange places blown there by the wind. For the next

week we spend almost all of our time repairing the Tree House and searching for missing items.

I didn't realize it at the time but the storm marked the passing of my first full year in Neverland.

"Grandma, did you really throw a shoe at him?" "Yes, I did Joshua. I was young and silly then

so don't get any ideas from me!"

Over the next few years I had numerous other exciting excursions with the Lost Boys but no

particularly thrilling adventures. In fact the next most noteworthy activity was a very scary and

sad one. Grandchildren we had what is called an epidemic go through the island. An epidemic is

where a sickness or a disease runs rampant throughout a town, city, or even a whole country.

The sickness started with the weak or sick but then soon pulled down the strong and healthy.

We had heard reports that a nasty bug was going through the pirate town, but did not think

that it would reach the Lost Boys or the Indians. Tuck was the first among the Lost Boys to get

it. For several days he had been sort of mopey and tired. Then one morning he would not get

out of bed. I had a little skill in medicine and swiftly went to Tuck. He had a raging fever and

was hot to the touch but was shivering uncontrollably. My eyes widened in fear when I saw

how bad he was. I immediately sent off a pigeon to the Indian village to call for the Wise

Woman. When she arrived I was horrified to hear that Tuck was not the first case she had seen

and that others in the village were also sick. She recommended that Tuck be quarantined and

to keep as many people as possible away from him. She gave me a bag full of healing roots to

boil down into a paste to help ease the fever. Once Tuck received some of the paste his fever

lifted but he continued to be weak with many hot and cold spells. The next day Rags came

down with the same thing. And the day after two more boys became sick. Within four days over

half of the Lost Boys were sick. Everyone who was not sick spent all of their time either

searching out more healing plants or were tending to the sick. Those who were sick displayed

flu like symptoms along with strange bouts of hallucinations and the worst cases would

eventually slip into a coma like state. Between the Wise Woman and I, we could find no reliable

cure for the strange sickness and soon it began showing signs of being deadly. In the Indian

village the first victim of the virus was an old woman, but it did not stop there. The first Lost

Boy to lose the fight against the illness was Rags. Sam was watching over the sick boys and had

taken a short nap. When he awoke and checked over the boys he found that Rags had slipped

away while he had been napping. He rushed to tell the Lost Boys and I about Rags' death. We

were all stricken with the news and redoubled our efforts to find something that could cure this

horrible disease. The next day two more boys, Fox and Matt, died. We buried them and Rags in

a special spot under a great willow tree and mourned sadly for our lost friends. As the week

wore on more and more of the Lost Boys became sick. David was the next to fall ill and then

Sam. Soon all of the Lost Boys were overcome with the virus and I alone was left to take care of

them. The majority of the boys were critically ill but Sam was the sickest of them all. I spent a

great deal of time making sure that he didn't wander off as the sickness often caused him to

see things that weren't there. He also was my only patient who would occasionally become

violent when I tried to restrain him from leaving his bed. I spent all of my time caring for the

Lost Boys. Night and day I tended each ones needs. I was weary from lack of sleep and yet the

fear for my friends drove me onwards in my care for them. One morning I was distraught to see

that during the night one of the boys who had appeared to be recovering had died. To top that

off I was alarmed to find that Sam had managed to wander away from the sick room and in a

daze had fallen down some steps and sprained his ankle. It took all of my strength and energy

to bury the boy who had died under the willow tree. By now I was distraught over my friends'

deaths and the fact that I had nothing left to give. Plus none of the Lost Boys seemed to be

making in real recovery. Nevertheless, I dragged myself back to the Tree House and continued

to try my best to care for the boys. Sam was actually the first to beat the virus. It was the

middle of the night and he had suddenly seemed to get much sicker and his temperature spiked

considerably when the fever mysteriously broke. His body cooled to the touch and he was able

to drift off into a normal easy sleep in comparison to the tortured state he had been in. Soon

afterwards several other of the sicker boys experienced the same thing. By the next morning

most of the Lost Boys were sleeping untroubled by the illness. The few that were left quickly

followed suit within the next day. The boys were weak but now capable of taking care of

themselves. I on the other hand was heartbroken and immensely fatigued from over two week

of hard work and heartache. When all of the boys seemed to be on the mend I returned to my

own room and crawled into bed and fell into a weary sleep. Now of what happened next I really

don't know WHAT exactly occurred other than the stories the Lost Boys have told me. But from

their accounts I became extremely sick and apparently sneaked off in a state of stupor and

managed to climb high up the great Tree and fell asleep in a hollow high above the ground. I

was gone for a full day and even though the Lost Boys were still very frail from there bout of

illness they searched the entire Tree House for me. It was Sam who found me after extensive

searching of the Tree. I have no memory of this but he recounted to me that when he found me

asleep in the tree I attacked him with my dagger when he awoke me and forced him back

down. He also said that I did not recognize him and ignored his entreaties to come down. Sam

was understandably upset by this and sought the help of David to help get me down. David

climbed up to where I had sequestered myself and began to speak softly to me. I responded to

him saying "Father? Father is that you? I've missed you so much! Where have you been? I've

wanted to see you for so long!" Nothing that David said could convince me that he wasn't my

father. The virus was causing me to believe that I was truly seeing my father again. David was

dismayed by my delirious state and felt pangs of mixed feelings as I babbled on asking

questions about my family. Eventually he persuaded me to come down with him. I crazily

teetered on the edge of the tree and made a wobbly descent from my perch. David stayed a

step or two below me and continually had to stop and steady me to keep me from falling.

When we reached the bottom I collapsed unconscious in a heap. David said later that he cried

when he carried me to my room because he was so afraid for me.

I was sick for a week. The Lost Boys spent all of their time taking care of me. Apparently I was

not a very good patient as I would try to wander off or would suddenly sit up in the middle of

the night and start babbling nonsense. I don't really remember any of this, grandchildren and

the few small things that I can remember are memories that seem like something I dreamed.

However, I can clearly see in my mind when I finally woke from my fever and delirious state. I

awoke with my head in Sam's lap propped up by pillows. It was early morning and I could tell

from the light that the sun was just starting to barely peak over the horizon. Sam was asleep,

leaning up against the wall of my room with his head drooped down on his chest and his curly

hair springing out in all directions. I stirred slowly but my movements did not wake him. I gently

rolled onto my side and with a yawn surveyed the room. I was startled to see that my room was

full of sleeping Lost Boys! David lay sprawled out on the floor next to my bed and Pip was curled

up in the corner snoring lightly. Another boy Will was fast asleep in my chair and two more boys

were stretched out on the floor. Finally in the door way slept little Tuck, who was hunched up

against the frame in a most uncomfortable looking position. My stomach was growling but I

was loath to move out of my warm cocoon of blankets or to wake up the Lost Boys.

Nevertheless, I could not sleep anymore and my stomach was complaining louder by the

moment. Sighing, I quietly sat up in bed and stretched. At this movement Sam shifted and his

eyes fluttered open. At first, Sam's face registered in shock and worry when he realized that I

had moved, but then his face lit up and radiated with joy when he saw me sitting up and smiling

at him. "You're ok!" he whispered and then repeated in a louder voice "You're okay! You

survived! You beat it….. we were afraid that you weren't going to make it. You got so sick,

but….but you licked it!" His voice roused Tuck who squirmed blearily out of his blankets. Then

Tuck saw me, he sat up straight for a moment and then scrambling to his feet rushed to my bed

and threw his arms around me. This effectively woke everyone else in the room and I was soon

swamped by the Lost Boys. David hugged me fiercely, but then declared protectively "Be

careful now, let's not tire Karen out." It turns out that I was the last case of the nasty illness

that went through the Tree House and all of the Lost Boys had recovered rapidly from their

battle with it.

My next exciting adventure I really did not play a big part in, really this part of my story is more

about Sam than me. Truthfully I was just a bystander. Now grandchildren, do you recall the

story where Peter Pan battles Hook and feeds his hand to the crocodile? "Yes Grandma! And

that's when the croc started to follow Hook around, right?" "Very good Jeanette, that's exactly

right." Here's something that you might not have known about the crocodile, the scaly beast

was actually named Mr. Grin and he was huge! He was much larger than any normal croc and

twice as fierce. Mr. Grin was a dark green muddy color with evil amber colored eyes and long

sharp stained teeth. He normally resided on the far side of the island in a deep murky lagoon

hidden deep in the forest. However, for some reason he had taken to roaming the island and

had decided to settle in a pool close to the Tree House. In fact he would attack anyone who

tried to leave the Tree House. This created a serious problem for us. We might be able to

imagine most of the food that we needed but nice fresh water was always welcome as the

pond was only used for bathing, plus we needed medicinal plants. Plus the Lost Boys loved to

roam the island and the Tree House soon began to feel like a prison. We went over many ideas

of how to get rid of the monster, but all of them fell flat. The real drawback was that we could

not just kill Mr. Grin, he was simply too big and quick for us. Arrows and spears were useless

against his armored hide and there was no way to get close enough to him with a sword

without getting eaten. We might have been able to overcome him if everyone swarmed him all

at once, but it would cost the lives of many boys, a toll we did not wish to pay. However, the

Lost Boys were becoming tired of their confinement and grumbled about their predicament,

moaning that they were going mad with boredom. Over the next few days I noticed that Sam

and another boy called Fleet, were being awfully secretive and often sat together whispering or

would disappear to some hidey hole in the Tree House. By the third day my curiosity was

piqued and I was very suspicious of their comings and goings. I found an opportunity to pull

Sam to the side and questioned him closely on his recent activities. Even though Sam normally

shared everything with me, this time he refused to say a word about his strange behavior and

even accused me of being nosy! I was now highly perplexed and worried, so I took my thoughts

to David. He too was tight lipped and although he seemed to be hiding something, he rebuffed

all of my attempts to discover what was really going on. Whatever it was that they were hiding,

none of the other Lost Boys seemed to know about it and I was left clueless about what they

were plotting.

The next morning I woke up to an atrocious racket. I leaped out of bed, grabbed my sword, and

went running out the door to see what was making all of the noise. I reached the front of the

Tree House and stood shocked at what I saw. About one hundred feet away was Mr. Grin in all

of his scaly green ferocity. Ringed around him stood Sam, David, and Fleet, they were dancing

and yelling at the top of their lungs while stabbing at him with long poles. The colossal beast

was worked up into a fierce wrath by this unjust treatment and lashed out with both his tail and

his massive jaws in an attempt to rid himself of the annoying tormenters. Suddenly, David and

Sam drew back from the fray and quietly disappeared into the woods leaving Fleet still goading

the monster. The croc hissed viciously with a lurid grin and slowly advanced on Fleet. Fleet

began to carefully edge away, but made sure to not move fast enough to lose Mr. Grin. Quick as

lightening the beast rushed him but Fleet had been expecting this and dashed away just fast

enough to escape his jaws but continued to encourage the beast to follow him. For a moment I

stood stunned, but with a sickening rush I realized what the boys were trying to do. They were

attempting to lead the crocodile across the island and back to its home by allowing it to chase

them. It was no wonder that they had refused to tell me what they were planning! I would have

tried to stop them from their mad idea. Now it was too late and I could only hope that they

would make it back alive.

Grandchildren, I will now recount the tale that the boys brought back to me from their venture.

Fleet ran rapidly through the forest looking frequently over his shoulder to make sure that Mr.

Grin was still following him. The croc charged onwards forcing Fleet into the deep undergrowth

of the jungle. Suddenly the beast stopped and turned aside into the leafy depths of the forest.

With a wild yell Fleet began flinging stones at the thick fronds where Mr. Grin had disappeared.

Then he picked up a long stick and thrashed the surrounding underbrush with it. Roaring the

crocodile rushed out of his hiding place and bit off the end of the branch that Fleet was holding.

Fleet stumbled backwards but continued to goad the reptile to follow him. Fleet's goal was to

make for the towering rocks where David was to replace him as bait for the foul creature.

Slowly but surely he wound his way through the forest sometimes running short spurts to keep

away from the crocodile but spending most of his time hurling objects and insults at Mr. Grin to

keep his attention. Finally the rocks columns came into view and Fleet worked hard to keep the

monster at bay while waiting for David to come and replace him. Unexpectedly Sam showed up

from out of the bushes and began heckling the croc. "Where's David?" exclaimed Fleet. "He fell

and twisted his knee!" replied Sam. "We tried to get ahead of you as fast as we could, but in

our haste David slipped while crossing the creek. I think that he sprained it. He can barely put

any weight on his leg. So I came instead to take your place. I'll just have to lure Mr. Grin the rest

of the way." "Are you crazy?!" Fleet cried "That's nearly two miles that you would have to

cover. And, there's no way that I could get in front of you in time to relieve you. The terrain is

just too rough." Sam answered "I know, but we HAVE to get Mr. Grin away from the Tree House

and this is the best way to do it." With a sigh Fleet carefully began to back away from the

savage crocodile. He disappeared into the jungle leaving Sam alone with Mr. Grin. Sam stood

quietly for a moment he knew he would have to conserve as much energy as he could to make

the long trek across the island. Then with a whoop he began flinging sticks at Mr. Grin who

snapped at them and advanced towards Sam. The crocodile continued to move forwards

following Sam just as he had hoped he would. Over the flat rainforest ground Sam made quick

time but the flanks of the volcano were looming ahead of him. When he reached the edge of

the rocky terrain Sam slowed his pace. He could not understand what had made Mr. Grin crawl

over the lava straits in the first place, however now he had the risky task of luring him back

across them. Slowly he crawled over the sharp rocks and pretended to have a difficult time

making it over the boulders. In a flash the crocodile was behind him, teeth snapping fearfully

close to his legs. With a gasp Sam clambered over the boulder and slid into the ravine on the

other side. Hissing with displeasure Mr. Grin followed after him sliding ungracefully down the

rock and stood with jaws agape only a few feet away from where Sam stood. The other side of

the ravine was too steep to climb so Sam's only option was to follow the bottom until he

reached a place where he could get out. Without warning the beast rushed Sam sending him

running for all he was worth down through the ravine. To Sam's delight the gully bottomed out

onto flatter ground. Up and over he ran before stopping to catch his breath. His respite did not

last long however, Mr. Grin came plodding slowly up the incline turning his head this way and

that searching for his light footed prey. Sighing, Sam picked up several large stones and threw

them at the croc to stir him up. Mr. Grin snapped at the stones and continued forwards

towards Sam. The crocodile kept a steady pace as he climbed over the rocks after Sam. Over

and over Sam and Mr. Grin would scale a pile of rocks only to be met with another deep rift in

the sharp stones. Finally Sam stepped into the cool shade of the forest on the other side of the

lava strait. When Mr. Grin reached the forest edge the huge beast stopped and appeared to be

enjoying the coolness of the trees after the scalding rocks he had been climbing over. Sam also

stood still grateful for a chance to catch his breath. He became alarmed however as the

cantankerous reptile turned away from the inviting jungle and started back towards the

treacherous lava field. Sam flung stones, branches, and dirt clods at the beast. Whatever he

could get his hands on Sam threw at the croc. He tore off a long branch from a tree and with a

crazed yell ran up behind the crocodile and struck the brute across the back so hard that he

broke the bough in two. This enraged Mr. Grin who whirled around and went flying after Sam

who took off running into the thickness of the jungle. It was not far now to the wicked beasts

lair but Sam still had one more obstacle to face before reaching the black lagoon. Between his

current position and the lake was a colony of fierce ants that would attack anything that

invaded their territory. The only way to cross their territory was to wear thick clothing covering

your entire body, even covering your face and hands. Sam had not brought extra layers for this

so his only chance to make it across was to run as fast as he could through their domain. The

question was would Mr. Grin follow after him? The ants did not affect the armored monster as

his thick leathery skin could not be pierced by their fierce bites. Sam looked back at the

oncoming croc and took a deep breath to steady his beating heart. Without another thought

Sam hurtled off through the forest not daring to slow down to check if Mr. Grin was still behind

him. Running as fast as he could Sam crashed through the domain of the fiery ants. Even at a

run Sam felt several of the aggressive creatures crawling over him and winced at their painful

bites however he only had a few more steps to run before he would be out of the ants'

territory. Panting, Sam slowed his pace and franticly brushed off the ants that were clinging to

him earning him several more stinging bites. At last he looked back to see Mr. Grin lumbering

through the ants' domain seemingly unconcerned over that fact that he was overrun with the

teeming creatures. They appeared to have no effect on him other than to make him shake his

head irritably when they got in his eyes.

Sam was able to now keep up an easy jog as the crocodile followed him quite docilely. In fact,

Mr. Grin seemed so tame that for half a moment Sam wondered why he was even considered

dangerous, but with a shudder he remembered that only a short time ago the great beast had

tried to make a meal out of him. Ahead of him he could see the clearing where the land became

swampy and eventually turned into a deep black lagoon, Mr. Grin's home. With a yell of

excitement Sam picked up a large piece of fruit and in a swift motion flung it at the croc. It

made a direct hit to the beasts' snout and splattered over his face. Mr. Grin was incensed, and

with a bellow rushed after Sam who could barely contain his laughter. He continued to smirk as

his feet began to sink into the marshy ground of the swamp. Still he encouraged to croc to

follow after him. He and David had killed a large wild boar and had dragged it to the lakeside,

an incentive for the croc to stay in his home. Skirting around the edge of the lake he led the

crocodile to the now smelly carcass. When he reached the pig, Mr. Grin immediately turned all

of his attention to his feast and ignored Sam allowing him to carefully slip away. Footsore and

weary Sam slowly walked back to the Tree House. When he reached us he was met with a

hero's welcome! We were thrilled to see him back safe and more importantly alive! I was the

first to see him come trudging back. I ran out to meet him and threw my arms around him,

hugging him fiercely. Hot on my heels were the other Lost Boys and Sam was overrun with our

joyous welcome. He narrated to us the events of his trek as we set out a comfortable chair

along with food and drink for him. We celebrated Sam's return and the riddance of Mr. Grin all

evening. It was a huge relief to not have to worry about the monster harrying us at our every

move. And that, grandchildren, is the part of my story involving the crocodile Mr. Grin. "Is that

the end of your story grandma?" "No Jeanette, I was only telling you about the crocodile just

then. The story of my life in Neverland still has a few more stories to go before I am truly

finished." "Oh okay" Jeanette sighed "You sure have a long story." "This is the last part

Jeanette, I promise." "Alright, what happened next?"

Well I continued to live with the Lost Boys for many years and towards the end of my time in

Neverland we actually came to somewhat of a wary peace with the pirate community. In fact,

we came to the point where we shared the beach with the pirate children and their mothers.

The beach was considered a neutral zone so that all could enjoy it and no one was supposed to

bring weapons there. Off course this was not followed completely but the Lost Boys and I soon

took to only carrying a small knife or dagger on us when at the seaside. One very hot day I

decided to go down to the beach and go for a swim. This was a routine outing for me and I

usually went with several of the Lost Boys. But on this particular day none of them were

interested in swimming so taking only my short hunting knife and horn, I walked down to the

beach. The cove where the beach resided was surrounded by towering cliffs and to reach the

sand the Lost Boys had hewn a long set of steps into the sharp rocks. The sand glowed white in

the heat of the sun and mirages shimmered in the air. No one was there which I thought was a

little bit odd for such a hot day, but the cool water on my hot skin soon drove away any of my

suspicions. After a soothing swim in the brilliant water of the cove I walked the edge of the

beach looking for shells and debris that the sea had washed up. As I looked ahead to the far end

of the beach I saw something gleaming in the searing afternoon sunlight. I smiled excitedly to

myself and jogged up the beach to explore the object. As I drew closer I saw that the sparkling

object was a huge pearly conch shell half buried in the sand on the edge of the water. I bent

down to pull the conch out of the sand and stumbled forwards when a sudden sharp impact hit

my shoulder, causing me to almost fall face first into the surf. Pain flooded through my shoulder

and my mouth fell open as I turned and saw the arrow lodged high in my left shoulder. Fear was

the first thing that came racing over my heart but it was quickly drowned out by fury and

outrage that someone would try to break our peace that we had struggled so hard to achieve. I

looked up above me to the cliff side and was dismayed to see a great horde of pirates most of

the way down the cliff and heading towards me at a run. I turned away from the pirates and

took off running down the beach. By now the initial shock of my wound had worn off and the

pain from it slowed me down fogging my brain. As I desperately ran towards the path to the

Tree House I madly blew my hunting horn hoping frantically that the Lost Boys would hear it

and come to my rescue. Nonetheless, the beach was long and I was far from the stairs leading

to safety. The pirates were now close behind me and I knew that this time there would be no

escape. So instead of wasting my energy running I stopped next to the water's edge and gave

one last long frenzied blast before drawing my small knife. My knife would not be able to do

any real damage but I figured that I could at least defend myself for a short time with it. I stood

with my back to the water's edge as the pirates closed in around me. There were at least fifty or

more pirates by now hemming me in all heavily armed. The pirates quickly began to close in

their circle forcing me into the shallow water. I held my knife at the ready as the pirates

advanced, out of the corner of my eye I saw the glint of a sword coming towards me and was

able to barely fend off the blow. My heart sank even lower when I saw none other than Hook

approaching through the army of pirates. There was only one reason why Hook would try

something like this. He wanted all-out war on the Lost Boys and would try to wipe them out.

Killing me would certainly cause the Lost Boys to fight him. Suddenly a horn sounded from the

top of the cliff and I could see the Lost Boys running along the edge towards the steps. This

threw the pirates into action and I was attacked from all sides.

I defended myself fiercely but my short knife was barely able to block the blows raining down

on me. I found I could protect my body, but my arms were soon covered in small cuts from the

long pirate swords. Abruptly I took off running through the shallow water heading for the Lost

Boys who were now streaming down the cliff and onto the beach. A pirate blade caught the

side of my leg, but I kept running as an enraged yell went up from the pirates. They pounded

after me and soon caught me again, but I was now a little closer to the Lost Boys. The pirates

now drove me out of the water and completely surrounded me. I ducked and parried turning

aside thrusts that could kill me, while whirling around in an attempt to keep the pirates away

from my unprotected back. I could not risk standing still with so many pirates around me. I was

now cut and bleeding in a score of places but no pirate had yet found their true mark. For a

moment the pirates drew back and I gave my horn a quick blast. The Lost Boys with David in the

lead had almost reached the pirates and were now yelling wild cries with their swords drawn as

they ran forwards. The pirates quickly surrounded me again and attacked with renewed fury.

Hook was now leading the front of their line and I began a desperate duel with him. His sword

flicked in out effortlessly easily deflecting my small knife. It seemed like every blow that I

parried was scarcely enough to protect me and my hands and arms were suffering from Hook's

long fencing sword. By now the Lost Boys had reached the pirates and a furious battle was

ensuing. Hook was now in his element and had a great advantage over me with his long sword.

He rained down a heavy barrage of blows in such a rapid fashion that my small knife was not

enough to properly protect me. Unexpectedly, Hook changed tactics and took a scything slash

at my side. At the last moment he switched the course of his blade and brought the sword

down to cut deeply into my unprotected calf while I turned to fend off his attack. I staggered

and cried out in pain from the debilitating wound. As I fell forwards I was suddenly lifted up and

found David's arm around my waist. Hook's sword rang from the impact of David's blade as he

stopped the blow that was meant to kill me. David pressed the sword into my hand and then

drew another blade while Hook stood speechless for a moment. Using David as a crutch I pulled

myself into a position where I could take some of my weight of off my leg. I held my sword at

the ready. Hook was enraged that his attack on me was failing and madly fought David and I.

Just the length of my sword alone was enough for me to now protect myself and with David

fighting in a righteous anger next to me we were able to drive Hook back. The pirates were now

being driven back towards their side of the beach by the Lost Boys who had been joined by

some of the Indian braves. Seeing that the fight was going badly, Hook left off his duel with us

and moved back into the mass of pirates. David and I now stood back to back swords flashing in

the hot afternoon sunlight. We worked as a team defending each other and were able to slowly

move forwards leading the Lost Boys and Indians in pushing the pirates back. It did not take

much more to push the pirates to the cliff side. We had slain many pirates and they were down

to about half of their original number. The pirates suddenly ceased their fighting and stood with

their backs against the rocks. The Lost Boys hemmed in the pirates and advanced until our two

lines were facing each other. Hook stood at the forefront of the pirate line while David and I

also stood at the head of our ranks. Standing there in the blazing sunlight of the beach I

suddenly felt weak and dizzy the adrenaline of the battle finally wearing off. As we walked

forwards my injured leg finally gave out on me and I stumbled, crashing into David. This caused

David to cry out in dismay. Hook snickered derisively as David put my arm over his shoulder and

encircled my waist with his other hand to help me stand. "So it is true." Hook said mockingly

"The great leader of the Lost Boys has fallen for a girl. I thought the reports that I had heard

were exaggerating, but I see now that they were not! Fool boy! She can't stay here forever. She

will leave you and break your heart." I tried to speak in defense but found that voice did not

seem to work, also my vision was sort of hazy and Hook swam before my eyes and I leaned

heavily on David. I could feel David trembling in rage beside me and heard his voice as if he was

great distance from me "How dare you Hook! You tried to kill Karen and you broke the peace

by attacking her on the beach. We should kill you and your pirates right now!" Hook countered

saying "You wouldn't! You and your lot are too spineless and cowardly to kill us." David

answered, "No Hook, we are merciful. You and your rabble are the cowardly ones, assaulting

Karen with over fifty pirates. Because of this I now declare that this beach belongs to the Lost

Boys and if anyone from the pirate town sets foot on this beach they will be killed." Without

another word David sheathed his sword and gently picked me up. I tried to protest as he

carefully pried my sword from my hand and gave it to Sam who stood next to us. He then

turned and carried me up the beach with the Lost Boys and Indians trailing behind him. David

carried my carefully and spoke quietly to me when I shuddered with pain. My shoulder and leg

were the most severe injuries, but because of the score of wounds all over my body, I was in

bad shape. I had lost a great quantity of blood and a dark fog was rolling over my mind. I barely

remember David carrying me up the pathway to the Tree House. Once I was safely laid out on

my bed the Lost Boys began to treat my wounds and the Indian Wise Woman was enlisted to

treat me.

It took a week before I felt up to walking and required the use of a staff in order to hobble

around on my injured leg. However, my full recovery took several months and I was slow to

venture out. My mind was relentlessly consumed with Hook's words. I came to the painful

realization that he was right. I could not stay in Neverland forever. As much as I loved it here I

could not stay. This revelation made me completely miserable and I had no idea of how I could

possibly tell the Lost Boys and more importantly David and Sam the sad news. The boys were

absolutely puzzled by my apathetic behavior and tried everything they could think of to cheer

me up. They pried me desperately to find out was wrong but I was unable to bring myself to tell

them the truth. One day I sat despondently looking out over the island thinking gloomy

thoughts when a warm cheerful breeze swept swiftly over the island leaving me with a glowing

feeling. "Peter! It's Peter! Pan's back!" I hear Tinkerbell shout. She shot up into the sky

from her small house in a blaze of sparkling fairy dust. This created an enormous reaction from

the Lost Boys. They came running wildly from all parts of the tree shouting loudly. Suddenly I

heard a crowing from above the Tree House, a cocky self-assured sound that rang clearly

throughout the tree. The sound sent a strange warm shiver down my back and I ran down to

where the Lost Boys were gathered at the base of the tree. I stopped at the sight that met my

eyes. There in their midst stood a boy with a mass of wild red hair topped by a jaunty cap and

clad in a green shirt and dark ragged pants. "Peter Pan" I breathed. It was indeed the long gone

leader of the Lost Boys who now stood triumphantly in their jubilant midst. He was already

regaling the boys with farfetched tales and did not seem to even care or realize that he had

been gone for years and years. The chattering quieted down as I walked forwards. David walked

over to me and put his arm around me. "This is Karen, Peter. The girl we have been telling you

about." Peter swept off his hat and bowed low before me. Now that I was next to him I saw

that Peter was slightly younger than David but stood around the same height as him. He had a

young face with brilliant eyes that twinkled with mischief. "How do you do fair lady?" he asked.

"Very well kind sir" I answered. "And how do you like Neverland?" questioned Peter. "It is a

wonderful place and I like it very much here" I responded. Abruptly Peter lost his fancied air

and announced loudly, "A feast! In honor of my return!" and bounded off to our long table.

The dishes were set out and we enjoyed a bountiful meal with exotic dishes that only Peter

could have imagined. The Lost Boys did not appear to be unduly worried that their leader had

gone and left them for nearly seven years and had just now returned (for seven years was how

long I had been in Neverland and Peter had apparently left just before I had been shipwrecked).

I found this very odd and I asked Sam why the Lost Boys were not troubled over Peter's long

absence. He replied saying that Peter had often left for long periods, but he did admit that this

had been the greatest length of time that he had ever been away. David had immediately

returned Peter his sword on his arrival and now carried my father's great broadsword across his

back. I smiled happily at the sight of the Lost Boys in their festive spirit. I now knew that I could

leave. Peter's return would be enough to distract them from my leaving, even though it was

going to be very difficult for me.

That evening after supper I sought out David. I asked him to come and talk with me privately.

We walked in the moonlight until we reached an overlook at the top of a waterfall, a favorite

spot of the Lost Boys. I sighed heavily as I looked out over the beautiful view. I was going to

miss Neverland. "So, are you going to finally tell me what you have been moping about?" David

asked. I laughed and replied "You don't let anything slip by you, do you?" "Well I try to keep up

on what everyone at the Tree House is doing. So, what HAS been causing you to act so

droopy?" My shoulders sagged and my voice dropped as I answered, "David, I have to leave

Neverland. I can't stay here forever. Hook was right, I don't belong here in Neverland. I love it

here but my world is far away and I think that it is time for me to grow up." David stood silently

for several minutes before speaking. "No, Hook was wrong. You do belong here." "But, I have to

leave! I can't stay here permanently! Maybe you misunderstood what I was trying to say." I said

quickly. "I understand. You can't stay forever, that's okay. What I am trying to tell you though is

that you belong wherever you are." David declared. "When are you planning on leaving?"

"Sometime soon" I said miserably "With Peter's return I figured that his homecoming would

help ease my leaving." "I see" David replied. "Uughhh, the longer I put it off the worse it makes

having to leave! How am I going to tell the other boys? They will try to stop me from leaving

and I can hardly stand the thought of going away." I said disconsolately. David stood silently

again, and after a long while he spoke, "I'm coming with you." "What?!" I blurted out. "I am

going to leave with you." David repeated, "Not every boy stays in Neverland forever you know.

Anyways now that Peter is back the Lost Boys won't need me to lead them. It would be hard for

me to go back to not worrying about everyone since I have been in charge for so long." I said in

surprise, "But David that's crazy! You haven't been in the real world for who knows how many

years and what if Peter leaves again? The Lost Boys need a reliable leader." David answered,

"Look Karen, I get all of that, but it's time for me to leave just like you said. Your right, I have

been here a long time. More than you would ever guess in fact and that's why I should leave

now with you." "You really mean to go with me?" I asked. "Yes I am going to go with you! I can't

let you go running off into the great unknown all by yourself! Some wild animal will try to eat

you or you will be carried off by a tribe of man-eating cannibals and someone will have to

rescue you." David said laughing. "And I suppose that might as well be you, eh David?" I grinned

up at him. "That's right!" he replied with false offence. Laughing together we wandered

leisurely back to the Tree House. We decided not to tell the Lost Boys that night and instead

wait until the next morning.

At breakfast the next day we broke the news to the boys. Grandchildren I don't think that I

have ever seen so many sad faces. The Lost Boys were completely dismayed that David and I

were leaving. Pip and Tuck ran around the table and hugged me. "You can't leave! I won't let

you." said Pip. "I will miss all of you so much, but it's time for me to go home." I replied. The

Lost Boys finished their breakfast in gloomy silence after our announcement. Peter took the

news the best but it made him grumpy that someone had made a big decision without

consulting him first. Sam was the hardest hit of all of the boys. Both of his best friends were

abandoning him. "When are you planning to leave?" he asked. "Not till the end of the week."

David answered. "Well if you're not leaving until then we are going to make this the best week

you two have ever had in Neverland." Sam said determinedly. Sam was right. The Lost Boys

gave us the greatest week of our lives. We went swimming, hiked all over the island, visited the

Indians, and had other memorable adventures. Peter and Tinkerbell even set up a fantastic

treasure hunt for us and the Lost Boys and showered us with incredible gifts. As the time for us

to depart drew close the Lost Boys decided to do something extra special for David and I. The

Lost Boys took my great wooden chest that they and David had carved for me and filled it with

special items to help us remember them. They created a false bottom for the chest and filled

the space with rare mountain flowers and precious jewels along with many gold coins. In the

rest of the space above the false bottom they carefully packed David and I's few articles of

clothing. They also put in small things like wood carvings, ribbons for me, and a dagger for each

of us. They even wrapped up some seashells and a sea star for us. Finally the day we were to

leave we took both of our swords and carefully laid them on top of everything else. I took a

piece of paper stolen from the pirates and had each of the boys write their names on it and a

note. Some of them could not write so instead I had them dictate to me what they wanted to

say. To this day grandchildren I still have that paper and perhaps sometime I can show it to you.

We had decided that we were going to leave after the noon day meal on Friday. That day we

enjoyed a delicious luncheon with the Lost Boys for the last time. We sat around the long table

telling stories about past adventures that we had gone on together. We made the lunch last for

as long as we could but eventually our time was up. As David and I made our goodbyes to each

of the Lost Boys I finally broke down and cried a little. Up to that point I had been dry eyed but

as I bid Sam farewell my eyes betrayed me. Peter and Tinkerbell had been busy preparing to

take us back as they were going to be our guides since we were flying. Just as Tinkerbell was

sprinkling fairy dust over my wooden chest Sam blurted out "I'm coming too! You guys are my

best friends and I can't stand to see you leave." Needless to say David and I were overjoyed

that Sam was going to come with us and we waved enthusiastically to the Lost Boys as we flew

away above them. Peter led us on one last parting flight over Neverland and each of us tried to

find our favorite haunts and make a picture of the beautiful island in our minds one last time.

Then Peter was off and away streaking up high into the clouds and we were hard pressed to

follow him. We flew long into the next day and it was not until late afternoon when we made it

to our destination. Our new home was America, my birthplace and the country that we agreed

would be the best place to make our new life in.

Making our way in the high tech world of the future was not easy grandchildren, for the time in

Neverland does not pass the same way as it does here. I had been gone from America for over

200 years and things had changed greatly. We made do however, and each of us was able to

find a place for ourselves in the new world. Sam became a doctor and worked hard for many

years at his profession. David and I eventually got married and moved out into the country

where we farmed. I also spent some time as a school teacher, but no matter how busy we were

we always made time to see Sam and we spent many happy years together as friends.

"Whoah…wait stop Grandma! You mean to say that Grandpa Davy is…..is… the David from

your story?!" "That is exactly right Jeanette! Your grandpa came from Neverland just like I

did." "Well then where is Sam?" "Why grandchildren you know our neighbor Mr. Bell! That's

Sam." "So my whole life I have had a grandpa who was a Lost Boy?" "Yes, Joshua, David was

one of the Lost Boys." "Coooool…. I know two Lost Boys!" "That you do Joshua, that you do."


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